The Koppelman Group

APRIL 10, 2025

The top five majors at Duke are Computer Science, Economics, Biology, Public Policy, and Psychology, and students are drawn to the university by the strong community culture paired with exceptional research opportunities. Scores Students who want to get into Duke should also have very strong test scores.

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The Koppelman Group

APRIL 12, 2025

Its because you, as a legacy of a Vanderbilt alum, probably attend a private school or top public school, probably have access to tutors for school and standardized tests, and generally have the privilege to become high-achieving without as many barriers. So, if you want to stand out? Submit scores. Submit perfect scores.

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Policies Standardized Testing Extracurricular Letters of Recommendation 52

The Koppelman Group

APRIL 6, 2025

This has been their policy for a long time for at least two decades, and up to 50+ years and they have no intention of switching things up. Legacy at MIT Legacy admissions policies have been critiqued harshly following the Supreme Court decision striking down affirmative action. However, MIT does not subscribe to this norm.

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AdmissionSight

NOVEMBER 28, 2024

When it comes to your college applications, one big question is: how many extracurriculars should I have to stand out without overloading my plate? Think of extracurriculars like toppings on a pizza. Let’s break down how many extracurriculars you should really have, what counts, and how to make yours stand out. Don’t sweat it.

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The Koppelman Group

APRIL 1, 2025

Scores Like most universities, the Cornell testing policy has been shifting over the past few years and through the Covid pandemic. Going test optional helped students applying, but it has led to statistics that arent necessarily useful as the only students who submitted scores in recent years were those with very strong scores.

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Policies Ivy League University University 52

The Koppelman Group

MARCH 25, 2025

Brown is interesting because in 2023, they decided to form a committee to determine if they should make changes to Early Decision, testing policies, and legacy admissions. You still need killer grades and scores and those great, niche extracurriculars that can help you stand out.

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Policies Ivy League University University 52

AdmissionSight

APRIL 26, 2025

In this blog, well talk about what a 910 SAT score really means, whether or not you should retake the test, and how you can move forward to reach your college goals. Scoring 910 on the SAT places you around the 33rd percentile , meaning you performed better than about a third of test-takers nationwide. How Good Is a 910 SAT Score?

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The Koppelman Group

APRIL 26, 2025

Stanford is, once again, requiring standardized tests as part of the application process. Extracurriculars If you have the grades and the scores, the most important tool for setting an application apart from the pack is what happens outside of the classroom. Simply not sending scores is not an option.

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Policies Ivy League Out-of-State Standardized Testing 52

The Koppelman Group

APRIL 15, 2025

That means excellent grades, scores, extracurriculars, and essays. Scores USC remains test optional , but we almost never recommend opting for this route. Extracurriculars Being team captain or dabbling in a few clubs wont cut it you need to demonstrate real substance if you want USCs attention. This is non-negotiable.

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Policies University University Extracurricular 52

The Koppelman Group

APRIL 14, 2025

Many of these changes started before the US Department of Education Office for Civil Rights launched an investigation into the legacy admissions policy at Penn, related to the striking down of affirmative action by the Supreme Court, in January of 2024. Scores Penn cares about test scores, and they expect them to be exceptional.

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Policies Ivy League Early Decision University 52

AdmissionSight

JANUARY 23, 2025

One of the big questions that might be swirling around in your head is: Is Duke test-optional? Dukes Test-Optional Policy Duke SAT Scores Duke ACT Scores Duke University Admission Requirements Frequently Asked Questions Takeaways Dukes Test-Optional Policy For the 2024-2025 admissions cycle, Duke University is test-optional.

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Testing Early Decision SAT Letters of Recommendation 52

The Koppelman Group

APRIL 5, 2025

Below, weve broken it down to four key areas for action: grades, scores, extracurriculars, and type of application. Class Rank of the Class of 2028 Scores: Like most colleges and universities, Dartmouth suspended mandatory submission of standardized test scores as a part of the application process during the Covid pandemic.

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Policies Standardized Testing Ivy League SAT 52

AdmissionSight

JANUARY 10, 2025

No extracurricular activity is “bad,” but some definitely catch the eye of college admissions teams more than others. Selective colleges take a holistic approach to admissions, meaning they look at the whole picture instead of just focusing on your grades and test scores. Here are other Tier 1 extracurriculars examples: 1.

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Extracurricular Applications Out-of-State Policies 40

AdmissionSight

APRIL 3, 2025

In this blog, well talk about what a 960 SAT score really means, whether or not you should retake the test, and how you can move forward to reach your college goals. Scoring 960 on the SAT places you around the 41st percentile , meaning you performed better than about a third of test-takers nationwide. How Good Is a 960 SAT Score?

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SAT Testing Ivy League Tuition 52

The Koppelman Group

APRIL 7, 2025

Scores Harvard requires applicants to submit an ACT or SAT score to meet their testing requirements, but they dont have minimum scores to apply. Extracurriculars One of the most common weak spots that we see for hopeful Harvard applicants is in what they do outside of class hours.

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Policies SAT GPA Acceptance 52

The Koppelman Group

APRIL 20, 2025

Strong standardized test scores are a great way to spotlight focus and dedication. For the Class of 2028 and Class of 2027, strong test scores were a 1500 or above on the SAT or a 34 or above on the ACT. Just like with course selection and grades, Notre Dame wants to see students that are pushing themselves.

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Policies Transcripts SAT Acceptance 52

AdmissionSight

APRIL 22, 2025

Alongside the ACT , this test aims to give colleges a peek at how well you might handle their courses. Achieving a score of 780 on the SAT places you approximately in the 13th percentile , indicating that you were outperformed by a vast majority of test-takers nationwide. Heres a closer look at five colleges where you can thrive: 1.

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Admissions Village

DECEMBER 1, 2022

The University of San Diego (who is test blind) has expanded tutoring services and invited all first-year students to campus a week early, at the college’s expense, for Science Lab boot camps because the students probably missed that in high school. Many other colleges might be thinking of returning to requiring test scores.

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Testing SAT Letters of Recommendation Retention 169

The Koppelman Group

APRIL 25, 2025

Acceptance Rates for the Class of 2028 Scores UNC is remaining somewhat test optional for the future: For students applying for the 2025-2026 academic year, students with a weighted GPA of 2.8 scale) are not required to submit a test score. or above (on a 4.0 Students with a weighted GPA below 2.8 (on

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Policies University University Out-of-State 52

Spark Admissions

APRIL 11, 2023

According to Columbia, this move was prompted by a growing recognition of the flaws in standardized testing and the school’s desire to make the admissions process more equitable and accessible to a broader range of students. For decades, standardized tests have been central to the college admissions process.

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Spark Admissions

APRIL 11, 2023

According to Columbia, this move was prompted by a growing recognition of the flaws in standardized testing and the school’s desire to make the admissions process more equitable and accessible to a broader range of students. For decades, standardized tests have been central to the college admissions process.

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Top Tier Admissions

NOVEMBER 15, 2024

Transfer students may still take advantage of a test-optional policy. 3 words) What is your most meaningful extracurricular commitment, and what would you like us to know about it? 50 words) Required for transfer students: What is your most meaningful extracurricular commitment, and what would you like us to know about it?

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AdmissionSight

DECEMBER 4, 2024

A big reason for this surge is the rise of test-optional policies and increased global access to higher education. This means more competition for every spot and higher expectations for grades, test scores, essays, and extracurriculars. Meanwhile, the acceptance rate has decreased from 9.9% to just 5.4%.

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Grown & Flown

FEBRUARY 13, 2025

In the beginning, we trained ChatGPT by testing it on just a few schoolsthen, when she was closer to making a decision, we used it to compare her final options. Clubs & Activities : What extracurriculars are available? Housing Policies : Is freshman housing required? Is it required for first-year students?

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Financial Aid Out-of-State Campus Tours Study Abroad 148

Top Tier Admissions

DECEMBER 20, 2024

However, according to Yale Daily News , early applications to some selective schools, like Yale, saw a slight dip in the first test-flexible admissions cycle. Renewed Interest in Test Scores For the first time since 2021, more applicants submitted test scores than did not, despite widespread test-optional policies.

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Applications Ivy League Test Prep Concentration 91

Peterson's Blog

JANUARY 7, 2025

Standardized test scores, like the SAT and ACT, determine academic readiness and skills for entering university. While it may be beneficial to take both tests, this blog will answer the question, “Do you need both ACT and SAT for college? While both are standardized tests, there are a few key differences between them.

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College Essay Guy

FEBRUARY 12, 2025

You already know that summer and extracurricular activities are a great way to explore your interests, challenge yourself, and maybe even strengthen your college application along the way. Download a Printable Version of the Values List CEGS Epic List of Summer and extracurricular Ideas Organized by Values Thats right.

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Extracurricular ACT Out-of-State Policies 52

Admissions Village

JUNE 19, 2024

Extracurricular Activities (EC’s): How a student spends their time outside of the classroom. High School Profile: A document supplied by high schools to colleges that summarizes the school’s grading system, course offerings, standardized test score ranges, and other important data. To understand more about this please read our blog.

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BestColleges

APRIL 15, 2024

Harvard has reinstituted its standardized test requirement beginning next fall. Studies suggest standardized tests can help increase socioeconomic diversity. Add Harvard to the list of universities reinstating standardized test requirements. Brown soon hopped aboard the testing bandwagon, offering the same rationale. [S]trong

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AdmissionSight

JANUARY 1, 2025

To have a real shot, your application needs to stand out in every waygrades, essays, recommendations, and extracurriculars. That means your essays need to be sharp, your recommendations glowing, and your extracurriculars meaningful. UChicago Early Decision policy Both ED I and ED II are binding. Yale University 3.7% Dont panic.

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AdmissionSight

MARCH 22, 2025

According to their admissions policy , Duke will consider the highest scores on each section, regardless of the test date, and will create a new composite score by averaging those scores. Instead of stressing over one test, you can focus on improving individual sections over multiple attempts. The good news is, yes, they do!

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SAT Policies GPA Extracurricular 52

College Essay Guy

DECEMBER 20, 2024

Do you have to be a star athlete, or a straight-A student, or maybe the president of every extracurricular club? These scholarships typically require excellent grades, high test scores, and sometimes additional criteria like leadership, community service, or extracurricular involvement. How do you write a scholarship essay?

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Scholarships Letters of Recommendation Tuition GPA 98

Shemmassian Academic Consulting

JULY 9, 2023

This became especially true in 2020, given changes in test administration and colleges’ testing policies due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Two years later, colleges continue to update their testing requirements, with some extending their test-optional periods and others opting for permanent changes.

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ACM College Consulting

MAY 3, 2024

Last summer, more than 1900 colleges were test optional, test-free or test-blind. Many others have stated they will not go back to requiring test scores yet, if ever, but there is still the potential for more colleges to return to requiring test scores. So, should students still take a test?

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Solomon Admissions

DECEMBER 8, 2023

Did you know that there are over 1,830 colleges and universities that have switched to test-optional over the last few years? According to Forbes , many of these schools did so to help combat the effects of COVID, but as COVID cases have been on a drastic decline schools are standing by this policy for a multitude of reasons.

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Testing Standardized Testing Letters of Recommendation Test Prep 87

Marks Education

APRIL 23, 2025

AP Exams are standardized tests administered by the College Board that measure your mastery of the college-level coursework youve been learning in your AP course. Another benefit is that AP exams provide a national benchmark for academic performance thats indifferent to school specific grading policies. How do colleges read AP scores?

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Admissions Standardized Testing Placement Transcripts 52

Berkeley² Academy

MARCH 8, 2025

Changes to standardized testing requirements Some colleges that have maintained test-optional policies include Princeton, the University of Maryland, and Texas A&M. However, many of the most competitive schoolsincluding Caltech, Stanford, and Cornellhave reinstated testing requirements.

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